Yan Lin
Yan Lin is Hay Lin's paternal grandmother and the original Guardian of Air. After the previous Guardians of the Veil were disbanded, she became the seeker of the successors to the title Guardians of the Veil. In the comics she soon leaves the living world and resurfaces as part of the Council of Elders, acting as the new Guardians' adviser throughout their missions. Later in Arc 7 she becomes the Oracle. Comic Series In the comic book, Yan Lin died soon after the Guardians received their elemental powers. She then became a member of the Congregation of Kandrakar, apparently gaining a new body identical to her original one. Although she could not communicate with the girls directly because of the Veil, she was able to send several messages to them indirectly. After the Veil was removed at the end of the first story arc, the guardians began to regularly visit Kandrakar, and Yan Lin quickly became one of their favored advisers. In the Endarno storyline, the Oracle was stripped of his power and cast out of Kandrakar. Their followed a vote by the Congregation to elect a new leader, with Endarno (Phobos in disguise) and Yan Lin being the two candidates, taking the titles of 'Summoner' for the ritual. During the ceremony, the two elders were surrounded with magical butterflies, one of which had an image of the Heart of Kandrakar on its wings. This butterfly first settled on Yan Lin's hand, but she blew it away and it landed on Endarno's face. The mark then transferred to his skin, and he became the new Oracle. It is implied that Yan Lin would have become the Oracle if she had not rejected the butterfly, and that she did so because she was afraid of losing her connection to Hay Lin, and that she was unprepared for the responsibility of leading Kandrakar. Phobos, disguised as Endarno, was able to manipulate the entire Congregation into believing his lies, with the exception of Yan Lin. She persuaded the other Elders to elect her as the new Keeper of the Tower of Mists, the position formerly held by Endarno, and was able to guide Elyon while she was imprisoned within the Tower. She also visited Himerish, the former Oracle, in the form of a giant turtle, and helped to restore his lost memories. After Phobos was defeated and Endarno was returned to his own body, he and Yan Lin became the Oracle's close advisers, the three of them forming the new 'Trinity Council' of Kandrakar. When the Dark Mother's tree takes control of Kandrakar, she is the only member of the Congregation who remains immune to the tree's magic. At the end of the 'New Power' saga, the Oracle decided to leave Kandrakar for good, and transferred his power to Yan Lin. She first used her new powers subconsciously in order to save the fortress from collapsing from the damage done to its foundations by the Dark Mother's tree. She awoke in her room in Kandrakar, where the Oracle gave her the Heart of Kandrakar and some parting advice before leaving. She then used her magic to recreate Kandrakar in her own image. Since the start of Teach 2b W.I.T.C.H., Yan Lin has worn the Heart of Kandrakar around her neck as a symbol of her new position. Rather than remaining within the fortress, she appears to spend much of her time in the gardens of Kandrakar, where she frequently meets with the girls. When the guardians discover their new mission, she presents Hay Lin with a key to their new school, a magical bus which contains an almost infinite number of rooms in which they will teach their new pupils. Animated Series After the Veil was raised, cutting Earth off from Meridian, Yan Lin kept the Heart of Kandrakar on Earth until it was time to pass it on to the next generation. After which time she acted as a mentor to the new Guardians, and served as an informal adviser to the Council of Kandrakar. Upon her return, Nerissa attempted to corrupt Yan Lin by offering her power, youth, and finally the safety of her granddaughter, but Yan Lin refused all three. Nerissa was forced to imprison Yan Lin, alongside Elyon, within the Heart of Meridian. Nerissa then created an Altermere to take her place. Although the real Yan Lin had the unusually strong will to resist her former best friend, Altermere Yan Lin's desire to live was stronger than her self control, and she fell under Nerissa's thrall. She even admitted to Nerissa such a fact, adding that she had come to love Hay Lin as if she were her true granddaughter. Altermere Yan Lin's replacement of the real Yan Lin went unnoticed until close to the end of Season 2, and up until that point Nerissa used Yan Lin's supposed loss to the dark side to taunt Hay Lin, in an unsuccessful attempt to break her spirit. Nerissa had the brainwashed Yan Lin bullying and fighting her granddaughter, but when she kidnapped and used her boyfriend Eric as a hostage, Hay Lin reacted and fought back. After being used to fight W.I.T.C.H., Altermere Yan Lin was freed from Nerissa's thrall at the same time as the other members of C.H.Y.K.N., and she was imprisoned alongside them when Nerissa absorbed them. In the final episode of the second season, "Z is for Zenith," Yan Lin's Altermere escaped her prison and came to live on Earth, where she was introduced to Hay Lin's parents as Yan Lin's "long-lost twin sister Mira.". As an almost perfect duplicates, Yan Lin and Altermere Yan Lin, now Mira Lin had a habit of finishing each other's sentences. Yan Lin performed several small acts of magic throughout Season 1, and during Season 2 it was revealed that she retained the untransformed version of her Guardian power after C.H.Y.K.N. disbanded the first time. Though, without the Heart of Kandrakar directing the power of the Aurameres to her, using her former elemental powers too long drains her life force. Powers and Abilities Yan Lin possesses the power of Air, the fourth element of the aerokinetic ability to control and manipulate air, and can manipulate and control various aspects of said element, including wind and clouds, she can even turn her breath into a weapon for both versions. Yan Lin can move objects using her elemental power, and, in the comic book, she is the only member of the group who can fly both in and out of her Guardian form, but can temporarily give others the ability to fly. Yan Lin is the one who can fly the highest and quickest among them. She can conjure clouds and even use her power to soundproof rooms, Yan Lin has shown an ability to control the temperature of the air, and often uses this power to freeze enemies. She can also create air bubbles for traveling underwater and can hear things on the wind because of the sound waves that travel through the air. Yan Lin can recall a person's memories by listening to their favorite music and creating sonograms with the sound to show them the images of their past, and also learn the history of an object by the sound it makes. When she does this, she is feeling the atmospheres the object was in and how it was touched, Yan Lin is the only one who can become invisible and make other things invisible. In the comics, all the girls can become invisible. Also in the TV Show, she was capable of Empathic Precognition; if she's thinking strongly of someone before she sleeps, she can see what will happen to them in the future. Yan Lin's powers are twice as powerful as Hay Lin's as she has had more experience with them or it could be just the fact that Mira's (her Altermere) powers were fueled by two hearts instead of one. 'Air Powers:' Yan Lin, with her power over air has the ability to: *'Aerokinesis:' She has the power over air and can manipulate aspects of said element. Capable of conjuring clouds, create (highly destructive) windstorms and tornadoes, control temperature of air, freeze people and objects, create air-bubbles for traveling underwater, create breathable oxygen, suck the air and wind out of living beings. Use her breath as a weapon. In simple terms she can manipulate any aspects of said element. **'Aerokinetic constructs:' Create a multitude of shapes out of air such as weapons, animals, and creatures. She can also use air shields. **'Steam Manipulation:' Manipulate and control steam (as it is a form of a gas element). **'Telekinesis (simulated):' Use wind to move objects. **'Air Blasts:' Shoot air blasts at her opponents. *'Vacuum Manipulation:' She can remove oxygen in area. As seen in w.i.t.c.h comics # 83. *'Superhuman Hearing'. *'Invisibility:' She can make herself and others completely invisible. *'Precognition:' She can use empathic precognition (also seen as Premonitions). *'Superhuman Agility:' She possesses greatly strengthened and amplified agility. *'Flight:' She has the ability to fly without transforming. *'Atmokinesis:' Manipulate and control the weather and surrounding climate at will. *'Psychometry:' Recall and read the memories and history of an object by touching it and closing her eyes. *Soundproof Rooms. *'Shapeshifting Powers'. *Act as an empath. *Transmute objects. *Use her breath as wind. *Give others and herself the ability to fly. *'Aeromancy:' She can see vivid vision or scene through air. 'Yan Lin's powers, as her status as a Guardian and ex-Leader include:' *Unite the Guardians with the command "Guardians Unite!" (formerly) *Flight (in the TV show). *Make herself and others completely invisible (only in the TV show, and not shown). *Glamouring. *Teleportation (only in the TV show, and not shown). *Recall other people's memories. *Open folds in time and space (only in the TV show, and not shown; formerly) *Telepathy (only in the TV show, and not shown; formerly) *Ability to change the girls and herself back in to human form. (only in the TV show, and not shown; formerly) Trivia *It is unknown if Yan Lin is Hay Lin's paternal or maternal grandmother: **In issue #2, Yan Lin addresses Hay Lin's father, Chen, as her son, stating that when he was little she was the one that fed him (he was trying to convince her to take her medicine); However, in issue #9, when Hay Lin's asks her mother, Joan, for an Asian story the latter comments that Yan Lin used to tell her many when she was little. **This may be an inconsistency from part of the writers, because in Teach 2B W.I.T.C.H. arc, Hay Lin's maternal grandparents are showed in a flashback, and her maternal grandmother is clearly not Yan Lin, hence Yan Lin must be the mother of Hay Lin's father. **In the TV Series she is established as Hay Lin's paternal Grandmother as her Father refers to her as 'my mother'. *It is believed that Yan Lin had the potential to become a Quinto-Guardian, as she was the wielder of the Heart of Candracar and since the heart has the ability to tap into the powers of the Aurameres, Yan Lin could do the same but by focus, the powers on to her rather than to her other fellow guardian while keeping the Heart. 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